Primeval: The Other Team
by NarcissaTheSecond
Summary: In an AU with a completely different storyline and a completely different team.   Please read; it's better than it sounds :D
1. Chapter 1

**OK, Guys, I've had this idea and think it could be great. Not exactly 'original'...but oh, well :D**

**AU where none of the team exist; clean slate. Wipe your knowledge of the old team. Meet; the NEW team! Yay! *crowd cheers in teh background***

**'Course, the old teams amazing, but I'm already loving my team! If there are any similarities between my characters and ones from the series; they're probably accidents and subconcious, but feel free to point them out! Thank you :D

* * *

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**CHAPTER ONE**

When she was five years old, Clarissa 'Carrie' Harman had her parents cruelly snatched away from her by a tragic fire from which she made a miraculous escape. She remembered nothing of the explosion in her home, the result of her getting hold of her father's cigarette lighter while her mother tried to light the stove, only the burning sensation. She couldn't even remember the knife that had flown from her mother's hand as the oven exploded, burrowing itself in her thigh, but the three inch long scar was a reminder. Every day, she looked and saw it. Every day, she blamed herself for the death of her parents.

It was that day that she met her social worker; Marcus King. He was a tall, dark skinned man with a tender face and dark brown eyes. After he found Carrie somewhere to live, he told her in gentle tones; "I hope we never meet again" She understood. He meant he hopes they wouldn't _need _to. He would never know how wrong he was.

She had been sent to live with her elderly Great-Aunt Mabel, who had been her grandmother's sister. Carrie had hated in her Aunt's small, dusty house. Due to her old age, her Aunt had difficulty with her mobility and it was often left to Carrie to do the cleaning and such around the house. It wasn't exactly a shock when, on Carrie's tenth birthday, her Aunt died. The reason was never told to Carrie.

Again, Carrie was left alone.

Once again, she met Marcus King. He knelt before her and hugged her, gently. And she sobbed into his shoulder. This time, it took longer for her to find someone to look after her, but when he finally did, he repeated himself. "I hope we never meet again" Carrie had a feeling they would.

This time, she was sent to live with her parent's old best friend, Joanna Murray. Carrie called her Auntie Jo. By now, Carrie had developed a very closed and guarded character which kept her locked inside herself as often as possible. It wasn't personal, Joanna understood, but rather the pain of being left to fend for herself not once, but twice, by people who were supposed to look after and care for her. Joanna honestly found it incredibly difficult to fathom how she could possibly have handled that herself.

It seemed as if it were too much of a coincidence when Carrie turned sixteen. This time; she saw the person who killed her Aunt, or at least, she saw the back of him. She saw his long, dirty blond hair and hunched back. When he flashed a cruel smile, she saw his unfathomable black eyes. And then he fled, leaving her to catch Aunt Joanna; who had a knife lodged in her chest.

Immediately, Carrie went hysterical and it was only when a neighbour came around later that day that she moved from her Aunts side. When asked if there was anyone she wanted to call, Carrie could only think of one person.

"Marcus King?"

"Marcus, I need you"

He turned up an hour later and made all the phone calls, sorted everything while she sat there, clutching an untouched cup of coffee, a blanket wrapped around her slender shoulders, staring into space. Finally, Marcus finished on the phone and turned to her, his face the picture of sympathy and empathy. He held a large hand out and she stood up, setting the cup down and ignoring the hand, walking past him.

It was then that Carrie made her decision. From now on; she depended on herself. Herself and no-one else.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

"Orders up!" A girl with long, blonde and brown hair in plats and bright, green eyes called. She tapped the bell on the counter and recited the post-it note in her hand; "Triple syrup pancakes; table three"

As she turned away, she muttered under her breath; "Good luck with your cholesterol!"

"Actually," a voice said behind her, "I'm diabetic"

She turned, quickly, and narrowed her eyed.

"I'm just going to pretend that makes sense," She nodded, "Right"

The man before her smiled and she had to fight not to smile back. He had deep brown, laughing eyes and black hair that was just longer than the average man wore it and she couldn't help but think he looked a little like Orlando Bloom. His clothes were ordinary; blue jeans, a white top with a chequered white and red shirt over it; unbuttoned and beige timberlands.

"Zach" He said, holding out his hand.

"Charmed, I'm sure" She said, throwing him her best sickly-sweet smile. He chuckled again and sat at the counter to eat, "May I help you?"

"Yeah, actually; cappuccino would be great!" Zach said, with a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes, turning away and pulling the lever on the coffee machine. The boiling liquid splashed into the cup and she plonked it on the counter beside him, holding her hand palm upwards.

"4:75" She said, softly and his eyebrows shot up his forehead.

"For _one_ cup of coffee?"

"Hey, I don't make the rules," She wiggled her hand, "Come on, pay up"

"How about I give you," He dug about in his pocket, "£20.." He dropped the change into her hand, "And I take you out to dinner?"

Carrie rolled her eyes and pushed his change back to him.

"Thanks, but I don't date pretty boys"

She took pleasure, and had to hide a smile, as his face dropped. His expression made it one of those; 'if only I had a camera' moments and she mimed snapping a photograph.

"I am not a 'pretty boy'" Zach said, indignantly, and she smiled.

"Right, whatever you say" She said, folding her tanned arms across her white-vest top and smiling at him; teasingly.

"Listen, you..." He began, a smile on his lips, when someone shouted his name.

"Oi, Zach!"

She and Zach both looked up towards the door to see five people. The man who had yelled had short brown hair, sharp green eyes and clean shaven face. He was looking over at Zach with one eye-brow raised and a knowing expression. A woman with long, blond hair pulled into a pony-tail stood beside him; she was wearing white, skinny jeans and a tight top which perfectly accentuated her amazing figure. She wore lots of makeup- her lips were painted deep scarlet, to match her nails and the boots she wore. To her right was a tall man who looked to be around twenty-one. He was dark-skinned with a bald head and sparkling, dark eyes which were hidden behind glasses. There was a man next to him wearing all black, including his sunglasses. He looked like something out of Terminator. The one thing that ruined his professional appearance was the constant movement of his mouth; chewing gum. Finally, the girl behind him was wearing a short, pink dress and had curly, dark red hair tied in pig-tails. She looked about sixteen.

"Zach," The blond woman shouted in a fairly posh accent, "Stop flirting, you were supposed to be asking whether anything weird had been going on"

"Yeah, thanks Cordelia!" Zach said, with a pointed look. 'Cordelia' simply rolled her eyes, switched her weight onto her other foot, put a hand on her hip and stood, looking at him. He rolled his eyes in her direction.

"Looks like I'm going to have to leave, kid" He said, with a wink as he stood up. She rolled her eyes as the others filed out and he made to follow them.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" She said, her voice dripping sarcasm. He chuckled, slightly, walking backwards towards the door.

"Whats your name?" He asked, smiling his crooked smile at her. She looked at him, leaning on the side and debated for a minute before answering.

"Carrie"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

It was dark by the time Carrie got off her shift; she was the last one out of the Cafe and was just locking up when she heard the scream. Immediately, her body froze and the hairs on her arms rose as one. Her head turned, slowly, towards the source of the noise and her eyes and ears instinctively pierced for any sound or sight that was a disturbance in the cool night.

The night was suddenly tight, enclosed and eerily quiet, as Carrie stared around the deserted car park. The trees outlining it fluttered, hauntingly slow, making Carrie's eyes dart, constantly. Once or twice, Carrie could have sworn she heard a growl or a padding of large paws, but the silence was deafening, and she could never be sure.

Then, she heard the scream again and before she knew it...she was running. Faster than she ever had run before. She raced through the trees, ducking branches and leaping knots, grateful that she had worn her hard-wearing military boots; as oppose to the kitten heeled one's she had been tempted to wear this morning. She rounded a corner and paused, peering through the trees. What _was_ that?

It was like a...giant, floating sphere of glass shards. And it just stayed there, spinning slowly, like the earth in orbit. There were several people wearing what looked like soldiers uniforms standing around it. She could see them, but thanks to the bushes and ferns around her; they were oblivious to her presence. Then, another scream and she was running again.

Rounding a second corner, she came to another startled stop. This time, she found herself staring up at a giant...scaly thing. It was enormous, the size of a small house and had horns on the top of its head. Her mind supplied its name; Triceratops. Her conscious, however, had a little trouble keeping up.

A dinosaur? A triceratops? In the 21st century? No, no way! Then, another scream startled Carrie out of her denial and she shot to the side of the Triceratops. The sight surprised her.

The girl she had seen from earlier, the red-head in the short pink dress, was screaming at the top of her lungs and waving her arms around, trying to catch the attention of the Triceratops. Clearly, she was insane! Immediately, Carrie did the only thing she could think of. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. The Triceratops's head twisted on its neck, immediately, surprised by this new noose and cocked its head. There was a heartbeat of silence when Carrie heard the girl speak.

"Shit!" She said, and she began frantically motioning to Carrie, "Run, dumbass!" She said, and Carrie made her legs work, running back the way she had come. She and the girl nearly collided when they rounded the back of the Triceratops and would have ended up on the floor if she hadn't shoved Carrie in front of her and repeated her earlier order; "Run!"

Carrie did not need telling again, she was pushing her legs as fast as she could. So fast that she hardly even noticed when Zach, Cordelia and the others who had been in the Cafe all moved from beneath bushes and behind trees; trying to get out of the way of the stampeding dinosaur. Carrie could feel her breath dissipating and her legs threatened to buckle any minute. Then, she tripped...

"Zach..." She yelled immediately and he stopped and ran back to her, grabbing her hand and dragging her to her feet only to push her to the floor, off the trail, and land on top of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed her face into his chest as the floor rumbled and they lay there, listening to the others yell and the dinosaur roared in rage.

Finally, the yells and roars died down and Cassie felt Zach let out a breath and dropped her head back on the damp grass, her eyed closed.

"Nice to see you again" Zach said; she could see his expression before she opened her eyes and sure enough; there was the crooked smile and the laughing eyes. She rolled her eyes, and then her mind started working again.

"What was that?" She asked, her eyed narrowed; shrewdly, "Experiment?"

Zach looked at her, just as shrewdly before sighing. He looked as though he were about to speak several times, then changed his mind. Finally, he pushed himself up and of her and she was momentarily disappointed at the weight release, then he held his hand out to her. She took it and climbed to her feet, wiping grass from her jeans. Then she looked back at him and folded her arms.

"Well?"

"You're not going to drop this," It wasn't a question, but she answered anyway.

"No I'm not, and I'm not gullible, either. Might as well get it over with and tell me the truth"

"You want the truth?" Zach asked, looking back at her with an open expression that shocked her.

It was with a certain reluctance and yet determination that Carrie nodded.

"Fine," Zach gave her a sort of wry smile; "But you won't like it"


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"You expect me to believe this?"

Carrie's eyebrows were raised, her expression the picture of disbelief. She glanced around at the group, who all looked back at her with sombre expressions. She'd been introduced to all of them.

Cordelia, the tall, blond woman with the enviable figure seemed nice enough. She had smiled and offered her hand to Carrie when Zach brought her back to the team and the 'Anomaly' as he had called it. Then Cordelia, or _Cordy _as she asked to be called, left. When Carrie questioned this, Zach told her she was off to report to their field co-ordinator, Maxwell something-or-other. Supposedly he was some big-shot government fellow. Carrie guessed he wasn't exactly bummed out about having _Cordy _as his PA.

The tall man, with the clean-shaven face, light brown hair and sharp green eyes was James McCarthy. Supposedly the 'leader' of the team. He smiled, warmly at her as she approached and, when Cordy left, Carrie caught James watching her retreating figure. She made a mental note to question Zach about this later.

"James" He had said, holding out his hand. "James McCarthy"

"Dex" The dark skinned, braiac-looking guy said, smiling at her, "Dex Mitchell"

"Suzannah" The red-head said, and she didn't elaborate.

"And that," Zach said, nodding over to the handsome guy dressed all in black, who had sauntered off towards another car as soon as he spotted Zach and Carrie approaching, "Is my _lovely_ baby brother, Blakey"

"Blakey?" Carrie asked, glancing over to him.

"Yeah, well, Blake. But him being my younger brother and all, I just _love _to patronise him."

Carrie noticed that his voice was just dripping with something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Similar to sarcasm, but with less of the carelessness. She glanced back at Zach to see him staring ahead, a hard look in his eyes. She made another mental note to question someone else about that. Clearly, the brothers did not share an easy-going relationship.

James was standing in front of the 'Anomaly' which had retreated to a small, shimmering sphere, with his arms folded. Zach moved away from her to talk to Suzannah about something, and Carrie stood beside James, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, awkwardly.

"In answer to your question; no, we don't expect you to believe it."

"Good," She said, "Because so far, I don't" She looked over at Zach, who smiled and winked at her, making her cheeks redden.

"He likes you" James said, with a smirk on his face. Carrie glanced up at him and saw him staring into the light. She unconsciously copied his stance, folding her arms.

"I've no idea what you're talking about" She said, blushing fiercly.

"Zach."

Carrie looked at James again, her eyes narrowed slightly, and came back with all she could think of.

"Cordy."

She knew from the way James' face fell that she'd made a mistake.

"Oh...I'm sorry" She said, immediately, but James turned to her and pasted a false smile on his face, waving away her apologies with a wave of his hand.

"Dont worry about it." He turned to walk away, "And for the record; there's nothing going on"

Carries eyes were wide as he walked away. He was wearing a wedding band.

* * *

Back at the team's base, which they referred to as The Centre, Carrie climbed out of the car. Gazing up at the large building, she felt her stomach flip a little. She was only here because Maxwell Somebody-or-Other had insisted that the team bring her back so she could sign some contract thing. She had moaned. Carrie hated contracts.

They walked into The Centre, James and Cordelia in the front, Blake and Dex behind them, Zach walking with an arm around Carrie's shoulder. Suzannah walked behind them, a slightly sullen expression on her face. A few times, Carrie glanced back to see Suzannah quickly avert sharp eyes from her, and she turned back to Zach with her cheeks burning. She had a feeling Suzannah didn't like her very much.

"Ah, you're back" A pretty woman who looked to be about 24 greeted them.

"Hey, Andie" Cordy greeted with a smile. The others all did the same, Carrie answered Andie's inquisitive look with a shy, quirky smile and got a slightly confused on in return.

Andie was roughly the same height as Carrie, if slightly taller, and built the same way. Her hair was cropped into a bob around her oval, cheery face, and was Mahogany in colour. Her eyes, big and round, were hazel, and followed Carrie's every movement as if expecting her to pick up and bolt any second.

When the rest of the team began to ascend the long ramp that obviously led to somewhere, or someone, important, Carrie made to follow. Zach, however, put a hand on her arm and held her back.

"Let me give you the low-down on the team" He said it in a way that made Carrie think she should sit down. She was proven correct when Zach motioned for her to follow him and led her to what was clearly his office. He sat on the couch and gestured for her to do the same. She sat beside him and he leaned leisurely back against the arm.

"Alright...where to start?" He asked, and Carrie provided the answer.

"Whats with James?" Zach raised his eyebrows in an expression of amusement.

"Meaning...?"

"Alright, let me elaborate; whats the deal with him and Cordelia?"

Zach smirked again and paused a long while, staring at the floor, before answering his question.

"James had a wife. Melanie. I say _had _because she..."

"Died?" Carrie said, looking at him. Zach caught her eye and nodded.

"Yes. How'd you guess?"

"He still wears a wedding band. You said _had_. I figured he wouldn't still be wearing that if she'd...cheated, or something. And this job, well, its a recipe for disaster, right?"

"Right. Never heard it put _quite _that way, but, Right. She was killed when a creature restraining went wrong. He never really got over it...not that I can blame him" Then, he sat quiet for another long while before talking, "He also used to have his ear-pierced-"

"Wow. Don't know how I would have survived without that _vital_ piece of information. Thank you, Zach. So much!" Carrie said, rolling her eyes to indicate the sarcasm that was already drenching each note of her voice. Zach raised his eyebrows.

"Sorry" She said, looking sheepish, "Please...continue?"

"Right. He has his ear-pierced. But you'll never catch him wearing an ear-ring"

"Why not?"

"Do you have a condition where you _have _to interrupt when people are speaking?"

"Sorry" She repeated and, once again, he rolled his eyes.

"He never wears one because...Cordy doesn't like it. He hates suits. But if Cordelia organises something where he has to, he will. If she asks him, for whatever reason, to wear one; he will. I've caught him staring at her more than once-"

"I saw him staring after her, before, when she walked...away..." Carrie trailed off when she saw Zach looking at the floor, his eyebrows raised. Sheepish, she didn't even bother to say sorry.

"And then there's Cordy. Her dad died when she was pretty young and her mother sunk into depression, so it was left to Cordy to do everything around the house and to take care of her mother. She...well, lets just say, she never really recovered. As you can probably guess, she had to grow up pretty quickly, build her defences and what not. James has this thing where he can look at you, talk to you, and make you feel like he can see right through you. Cordelia doesn't like that. She likes to be guarded and in control. Honestly, they have a sort of...love-hate relationship"

"Right, so they're _not _together?"

Zach, once again, raised his eyebrows and smirked at her.

"No, why? Interested?" And Carrie couldn't help but laugh.

"Honestly, wise-ass, Cordelia's _really _not my type, and James is...a little too old for me"

"He's ten years older than me" Zach said, looking around the office as if fairly interested in the décor. Carrie smiled, amused.

"He's about...60 then, right?" She burst out laughing at Zach's expression when he looked back at her and he smirked.

"W-what?" She asked, in between giggles and that was when he pounced.

He jumped on her and pinned her to the couch, tickling everywhere he could reach. Carrie was giggling and laughing so much she could hardly breath and thought that her lungs may burst. She was relieved when someone coughed nearby, causing Zach to glance around and momentarily let her get her breath back.

"Max wants to meet her" Suzannah said, from the doorway, nodding to indicate Carrie. Her expression was stone-cold and Carrie finally clicked on. Oh!

She must like Zach! And the way they were now; his knees either side of her hips, his hands resting on her stomach, wasn't likely to be something she was jumping for joy about...Oops...first day here and already stepping on toes. Brilliant! Zach, apparently, had the same thought because when Suzannah left he sighed and Carrie was immediately aware of the distance between their bodies. Or lack of it.

"She's gonna really hate me" Carrie said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

"Why?" Zach asked, his voice confused.

"Because she likes you!"

"Then, lets give her reason to hate you!"

She nearly had a heart attack when she felt Zach kiss her, softly. She found her body automatically responding, her hands winding through his dark hair. Hid own hand crept around her back, holding her to him. Sighing softly, she felt him pull away and opened her eyes to see him smirking at her. She blushed, biting her lip. He stood up, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.

"Come on, Maxwell's calling"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

More than aware of the eyes on her, Carrie kept her own eyes on the floor when she walked into Maxwell's office, her lashes sending long shadows down her cheeks. When she chanced a glance upwards, she saw James standing, making non-verbal communication with Zach through his eyes. He was smirking and shaking his head slightly. Carrie felt her cheeks burn more. Cordy, who was sitting with her legs crossed, provocatively, on the edge of the desk, was smirking also. Dex was standing in the corner, his arms folded, staring out of the window with an absent expression on his face. Blake, who was sitting in a chair, his face dark, glaring at the floor. Suzannah was sitting on a cupboard, her legs pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knee's, staring out of the same window as Dex. Carrie noticed that, a few times, Dex's eyes shifted to her; softening slightly. Andie was standing, leaning on a the back door, studying something on a pad.

Behind the desk on which Cordy was sitting, was a man with dark hair and a moustache. He was sitting with his hands folded across his slightly-bulging stomach and a smirk on his face. Carrie wondered if, hanging around this lot, she'd end up smirking constantly, also. The man _looked _harmless enough, with those sparkling grey eyes and his perfectly ironed, pin striped suit. However, Carrie was willing to guess, from the size of him, that he couldn't half shout!

"Um...hi?" She said, eventually, and every neck in the room snapped around to her, and then to Maxwell. Well, that was ominous.

"Clarissa Harman" He said, in a rumbling voice that made Carrie's brain vibrate.

"Carrie" She corrected. She stood in the middle, she realised, of a pentagon. Maxwell and Cordy in front of her. Zach and James to her left, Dex directly behind her, Suzannah behind her on her left, Blake on her direct right. She felt centred, and, strangely, it calmed her.

Maxwell simply smirked.

"So, _Clarissa," _Carrie rolled her eyes and sighed, folding her arms, "I believe you've been informed of what we do here"

At this point, every pair of eyes beside Carrie's fell on Zach, who, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, simply shrugged. He was, of course, smirking.

"Yeah, you basically fight dinosaurs and stop people from finding out about the...Anomalies, is it?"

"Indeed it is." Maxwell said, his face grave.

"You see, Clarissa, we, here at The Centre, work to contain the Anomalies and the creatures which come spewing from their depths. If we didn't do this, terrible things could happen."

"Famine," Cordy offered.

"War" Zach said, from behind her.

"Pestillence" Blake spoke for the first time.

"The end of the world, as we know it" Susannah said.

"You know," James added, rolling his eyes, "The usual stuff"

"Yes, thank you, my own-personal bunch of wise-crackers" Maxwell said, rolling his eyes and holding the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Carrie smiled. She liked this team. They were all fairly nice and welcoming. Aside, of course, from Suzannah and Blake. Carrie noticed a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye and turned to see Suzannah turning quickly away from her. Making her third mental note of the day, she promised herself that she'd confront Suzannah about her problem. Then she caught sight of herself in the glass and quickly made an effort to try and fix her slightly smudged lipstick.

Maxwell stood up and went to the window. While his back was turned, Cordelia rooted through her bag and subtly passed Carrie, who gave her an appreciative smile, a mirror.

"Cordy, darling," Maxwell said, "You _are_ aware that those four-or-something inch heels are not the quietest thing in the world, right?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes at Carrie, who smiled and handed her back the mirror.

"Yes, Max, my apologies" Cordy said, in a sickly sweet voice. Carrie cast a glance at James, who she saw glaring out of the window, his eyes occasional darkening when he looked at Maxwell.

_Jesus, _she thought,_ There's some _serious _baggage going on around here_

"Cordy, make arrangements for Clarissa to sign the OSA. James, find her an office. Blake, have that report in my office by Monday. Suzannah...for godssake, stop starveling. Dex, I expect an update of how your latest scientific breakthrough is coming. Andrea, research, research, research" He fixed his jacket and walked to the door, pausing only to smirk at the team and say; "Oh, and Zach, _do_ lock your office door next time"

Then he was gone, and the team stood in stony silence. Carrie suddenly didn't like being at the centre of them at all.

* * *

"Right, Carrie, this is your office;" James said, opening the door and leading her in. She stood in the middle and revolved a few times. Yes, this would do nicely, considering she wasnt actually sure what her role was here yet.

The room was fairly large, with a desk, laptop, printer, scanner, fax machine and photo-copier. The walls were white-washed and on one of them, there was a generic painting. She supposed it was abstract, because she couldn't for the life of her make out what it was. It was large, square and took up most of the middle of the wall. There were all different shapes and shades of purple on it.

If she tilted her head this way...it sort of looked like an eye. But if she tilted it this way, she thought it was a kite...

"What is that supposed to be?" A voice said, from behind her, and she jumped out of her skin.

"'It' is what's going to bug me for the rest of my life, until I find out what 'It' is!" She said, rolling her eyes, folding her arms across her chest and turning to look at him.

"Hmm..." Zach said, studying the picture behind her. He walked around Carrie and took the painting off the wall, then he went outside the office. Carrie waited for him to come back, but when he didn't, she simply sat down and began rooting through her desk. There were a few pens, a packet of paper for the printer and a lamp in one of the large draws, but nothing else. Carrie sat back in her chair and began to spin and spin, not caring about how childish she knew she looked.

"Wheeee..." She said, closing her eyes as the chair spun. She almost went flying out of it when she realised there was someone standing in the doorway, smirking and watching her.

"Um...hey?" She said, to Blake. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and she wished he hadn't been standing there.

"Hello" He said, simply, just looking at her.

"So...can I help you?" She asked, not wanting to appear rude but at the same time not feeling all together comfortable with him staring at her that way. Especially since what had so recently happened between her and Zach.

"No, but I can help you" Blake said, walking further into the room. He stopped in front of her desk and leaned over it, so that his face was inches away from her own. She automatically felt her heart race.

"I'm going to give you some advice. It's up to you whether you take it or not; but if I were you, I would"

_Boy, _she thought,_ Talk about menacing..._

"Stay away from my brother"

Carrie blanched for a minute, thinking her ears must have decieved her.

"Wha-what?" She said, blinking hard and pushing up from her chair. She walked around her desk and looked up at Blake who, she realised, was slightly smaller than Zach, while still being a fair bit taller than her.

"I said; stay away from my brother. Like I said, though, it's up to you whether you do or not"

"Yeah, you're damn right it is!" Carrie said, stopping in front of her desk and putting her hands on her hips, feeling her temperature rise.

"Listen, _Blake, _I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you seriously need to take a step back and take a good look at yourself before you start judging people, even your brother!"

Through this small rant, Blake had stood as still as a statue while she got up in his face and practically screamed at him. When she finished, her chest was heaving and he was staring at her with dark, bleak eyes. He looked as though he were about to speak when...

"I think it's time you left, _Blakey!" _Zach's voice dripped malice. He was leaning in the doorway, looking slightly dangerous as he glared at his brother. Carrie glanced between them and wondered if they were about to start scrapping right there, in the middle of her office. The look on each of their faces said they'd each like nothing more. Then there was a gust of wind near Carrie's cheek and Blake swept from the room, not failing to shoulder-barge his brother as he went.

When he left, Carrie and Zach were left in a choking silence. She stared at the floor, and after a long while, he spoke.

"Well?" His voice was mono-tone. Completely expressionless.

"Well, what?" Carrie asked, looking at him for the first time since Blake had left.

"I'm giving you an escape. A "get-out-clause". I'm giving you a chance to get out of this, whatever _this _is. To take Blake's advice!" His eyes were cold, staring at her. "Do you accept?"

Carrie stood in the middle of her office, only her head turned in his direction, for a long time before she answered.

"No"

His face lit up, immediately and he held out his hand.

"Great. Lets go to lunch"


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

However, just as Carrie grabbed her coat and took Zach's hand, a loud, mechanical beeping sounded. Zach sighed, dropping his shoulders and closing his eyes briefly.

"Whats that?" Carrie said, her brow furrowing.

"_That _is your first assignment, kid!" He said, practically dragging her to the hub.

"What're we got, Andie?" He asked her. Andie was sitting at the head of what looked like an enormous computer. There were several screens, each with a map of a different continent.

"We have..." She smiled at Carrie, "You're lucky; this one's only in London"

Carrie's eyebrows shot up her forehead. She turned to Zach.

"_Only?" _He simply smirked.

_You know what,_ She thought, _one day, I'm going to slap that little smirk off his handsome, Orlando Bloom-esque face. Then he'll be sorry. It _is _the cutest smirk I've ever seen, though. _

"Alright." Andie said, typing madly at the keyboard. "I've uploaded the address to your GPS'. Zach, Carrie, James and Cordy in one car. Blake, Dex and Susie in the other. Go, go go!" She said, turning to them. She smiled at Carrie. "Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Carrie smiled back as she allowed herself to be dragged out of The Centre by Zach who, though she wasn't complaining, still had hold of her hand.

* * *

In the car, Carrie sat in the back with Cordelia. Zach and James sat in the front. Zach driving, James occasionally glancing over at him wearing an even smugger smirk than Zach normally did. Carrie whispered to Cordelia.

"What is it with the smirks?" She said and Cordelia glanced over at her, her brow furrowed slightly. Carrie tilted her head towards the guys in front of them and Cordy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, the _smirks. _I honestly have no idea. I think they're in competition over which of them are able to smirk the most each day!" She laughed, quietly and Carrie folded her arms, smiling.

"It would seem so" She said, rolling her eyes.

"What are you smiling about?" Zach asked, catching her eyes in the rear-view mirror. She simply shook her head. Narrowing one eye, playfully. Zach raised an eyebrow. Carrie simply shook her head, sending her plaits bouncing on her shoulders.

"So," she asked Cordelia, "How'd you get involved in all this?"

Carrie saw James' eyes flicker to the mirror. He caught Cordy's and Carrie saw his turn sad and close. When she glanced back at Cordelia, she was staring out of the window.

"I was at an Anomaly one time...someone saved my life and, like you, I refused to leave without an explanation" She took a deep breath, "I was working as a PA for the governor at the time" She gave Carrie a wry sort of smile, "He wasn't too fussed about my leaving. He had a pretty little red-head he was screwing in Marketing. I believe that, a few weeks after I'd left, she found out she was pregnant, he denied paternity and refused DNA testing. She sued him for everything he was worse"

Carrie raised her eyebrows. Cordy certainly had _some _background.

"Alright," James said, as Zach stopped and parked the car, "Here we are"

Carrie glanced out of the window and scoffed in disbelief.

"Seriously? Charlie Chalks?"

The resteraunt-slash-children's play-area loomed above them and Zach shrugged.

"We don't chose the locations, Kid" He winked at her and went to the boot while Cordelia and Suzannah, who'd gotten out of the other car shortly before they arrived, raced to the resteraunt.

"Where are they going?" Carrie asked Zach, who glanced around to see who she meant.

"Damage control" He said, handing her a complicated looking gun and giving her a brief description of how it worked.

"Right," He said, when he'd finished, "You ready?"

She nodded, feeling the hand that held the gun shake. Zach's eyes flickered to her wrist and he smirked, wrapping his hand round it.

"Relax." He said, kissing her forehead. She closed her eyes for a minute before speaking.

"Zach...I'm not sure about-"

"OI!" Cordy called, from the entrance, where people were practically pouring out, "Love-birds, come on. The gas leak won't deal with itself" She winked.

"Prove yourself now," Zach said, cocking his gun, "And you just might end up as team-leader one day" And then he took of after the others, leaving Carrie to catch her breath before following him.

This was going to be interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Alright, Zach, you and Carrie take the upper floor, Cordelia and I will take the bar, Susie and Blake take this floor. Dex, you stay here and try to work out which period this Anomaly is linked to. With any luck, there won't have been an incursion"

"Since when were we lucky?" Cordy asked.

"Oi, you two," Zach said, teasingly, to Cordy and James, "How come you two get the bar?" He quirked and eyebrow and then added, teasingly, "Be good, yeah? Don't need the two of you 'slacking' on the job"

He winked, Cordy rolled her eyes and James made a gesture that made Carrie gasp and then giggle.

"Come on, Cordy" James said, touching her arm briefly, glaring, playfully, at Zach and leading her towards the bar. He stood aside to let her pass and, when she'd disappeared through the door, winked at Zach, who laughed and motioned for Carrie to follow him towards the stairs.

"They're totally into eachother!" Carrie said, Zach nodding in agreement.

"Mm-hmm. Trouble is, neither of them will make the first move"

Carrie raised her eyebrows, glancing back as Susie and Blake made their way in the opposite direction. She'd watched how they acted around each other. They danced around each other, laughing and joking carelessly, each casting a glance at the other when they thought their counter-part wasn't looking.

"Maybe they just need some help" Carrie suggested, and Zach turned to her, smirking.

"Don't get involved, Carrie. It isn't our place" He said, sternly and she put on an innocent expression.

"Get involved? Me? My, sir, who do you take me for?" He just shook his head, smirking.

They ascended to the next floor, weapons at the ready, and walked right into the enormous play area. There were several massive, tube slides, a climbing wall, three pool palls, and a small pool filled with crystal clear water, several sets of strange climbing frames. The floor was foamy, causing Carrie to bounce slightly when she walked.

They spent several minutes checking the area, and found nothing. Carrie stopped by the water-pool and glanced around, an unnerving shiver running up her spine. She felt a hand on her back and turned to see Zach standing behind her.

"Hey," He said, with a small smile, "You OK?"

She returned his smile half-heartedly, until she saw the gleam in his eyes.

"Wha-" She barely had time to breath before he shoved her. She grabbed his sleeve and screeched, falling with a crash, into the water.

* * *

Susie and Blake found nothing. They checked the entire downstairs, the kitchen and the resteraunt, and found absolutely zilch.

"Maybe James was right? Maybe we did get lucky." Susie suggested, hardly daring to sound even the slightest bit hopeful.

"No, Cordy was right" Blake said, his eyes flicking between each nook-and-cranny, "We _never _get lucky!"

"Yeah," Susie said, quietly, "She was definitely right there."

Blake cast her a questioning glance but she simple smiled at him and quirked an eyebrow.

"Anything?"

"Na-da"

"Great," She said, hopping down from the table she'd seated herself on, "Then lets get back to the others and-"

She was cut off by a yell. Blake glanced at her and she looked back at him, they both fled towards the stairs, Susie close on his heels.

"That was Carrie" Blake said, to Dex, who quickly followed. Susie paused at the bottom of the stairs and let Cordy and James pass her before rolling her eyes and following.

"Of _course _it was Carrie"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the bar, Cordy and James weren't having much more luck either. In either the relationship department, _or _the creature finding department.

"Cordy" James called, from the other side of the room, "I really don't think we're going to find anything"

"Well done, James," Cordy said, sarcastically, lifting herself up on the bar and crossing one leg over the other, "I deduced that about twenty minutes ago"

James rolled his eyes, walking over and sitting on the bar beside her.

"So," He asked, "What do you think of the new girl?"

"Carrie? I think she's stubborn, impulsive and head-strong" She smirked and prodded James in the chest, "She's alot like you"

He pretended to be hurt, rubbing where she'd poked him and putting on a pained expression. She laughed and flicked her hair back, exhaling loudly. James cleared his throat, and they both spoke at the same time.

"Listen, Cordy-"

"James, I wanted to-" She smiled, sweetly, "You first."

"Me first? Great!" He said, sarcastically and she raised an eyebrow, "Um...well, see, I was wondering...we've been...well, you and I..."

"James?" She promoted, "Are you asking what-"

She was cut off, abruptly, by a yell from above and, casting a wide-eyed look back at James, took off for the stairs. James rolled his eyes, sighed and followed. He'd have to work up the courage to ask her out another time then.

* * *

The team all rounded the corner to the pool to see Carrie and Zach pressed together, lips-locked. Carrie's hands were tangled in his hair, his hands on her back, holding her to him, in exceptionally close proximity. Zach's jacket had been tossed aside and Carries buttons were being hurriedly undone, her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Guys?" James called to them, and they both surfaced, Carrie flicking hair out of her eyes, Zach beaming and tossing his overly-long, soaking wet fringe to the side.

"Yo?" He said, and Carrie slunk behind him under the team's increludous stares.

"Now who's the one's 'slacking' on the job?" Cordy asked, folding her arms and smirking down at them. Zach smirked back up at them before shaking out his hair the way a wet dog would. There were indignant gasps and exclamations for the team, and Zach laughed loudly when he finally stopped.

"So, there's no creature?" Carrie asked, finally plucking up the courage to speak again. James crouched by the side of the pool, staring into the water.

When he finally looked up at her, it was to quietly say, "Don't move"

Carrie immediately followed his orders, along with Zach, who gripped her hand reassuringly. James, however, reached into the water and gripped something. If she squinted, Carrie could make out the shape of something small and dark in colour.

"This is your first creature," James said, with a smirk, to Carrie. He held out his hand, palm up, to show her a small, tiny really, reptile.

"What is it?" She asked, peering over. Everyone had leaned in, slightly, to see the tiny thing, and James looked like someone in a zoo, showing the children one of the small lambs or something.

"It's a frog" He said, simply, straightening up, "And he 'ought to go home,"

He began to walk away, Cordelia and Dex on his heels. Blake remained, tossing his brother a vicious, dark look before turning his eyes on Carrie. She looked at him for a long time, her mouth going dry, her legs turning to jelly beneath her. His eyes softened slightly, then he looked away and stalked off after the others. Susie stood, her arms folded, obviously not willing to give the two soaking wet people in the pool another moment alone. Burning bright red again, Carrie accepted Zach's hand and got up out of the pool, her jeans sticking to her in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable to have anyone walk behind her.

Well, anyone but Zach.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

A few weeks passed and Carrie fit perfectly into the team. They had three new Anomalies. Three anomalies that gave Carrie the chance to show the team what she was made of. During the first one, a baby brontosaurus waddled it's 20ton way through the rip and began chewing on the leaves in the towns public garden. Carrie got a chance to show off her skills there by coaxing the herbivore back through the Anomaly using several large, green branches. She and Cordy spent an entire afternoon trying to taunt an overly-frisky caveman back through an Anomaly, _that _was fairly successful until the caveman picked up Andie and Dex had to knock him out using his own club. The third Anomaly was the quietest of them all. Three beaver-chipmunk type things that James told Carrie were called Diictodons came running through and tripped up Zach. Carrie'd been in fits over that and he'd re-payed her later when they'd used a high-power hose to scare the small, toothy creatures back to the Anomaly. Unlucky for Carrie and to Zach's great delight, she'd been wearing a white shirt.

Today, however, it was fairly quiet. Carrie had come to take this as a bad sign, as the last time they'd had a quiet day, they'd had two Anomalies over the following week and Carrie had lost several pounds with the amount of running she'd done. Now, however, she was perfectly happy to be in the gym practicing some of the moves Zach had showed her. She aimed a kick towards the top of the punch bag and, somehow, ended up sitting on the floor nursing her burning backside.

"Well, that was amusing" A deep, sensual voice said from the door. Carrie's head snapped around to glare at Blake, who looked back at her with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm glad you thought so" She said, sarcastically, rolling her eyes and pushing herself to her feet in the most dignified manner she could muster up. She braced herself, ready to try again to prove she could to it and aimed.

"You might want to-" Too late.

Once again, Carrie found herself glaring up at him. Blake looked doubly amused as he rolled his eyes, stripping off his jacket and shirt. Carrie had to force herself not to stare and so turned her face away completely, getting to her feet and adjusting her sports bra as she did so. She put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to her right leg as Blake came over, pushing sweat bands onto his wrists.

"You're using your weight wrong," He said, nudging her arm and moving to stand where she'd been previously. He took a stance not too dissimilar to hers and, while Carrie was trying to take in how he stood, where his feet were and how tense his muscles had become, he moved so quickly that she literally blinked and missed it.

"See?" He asked and she tilted her head, looking at him increludously.

"No, actually"

Blake sighed and pulled her by her arm, to stand in front of him. He left her and went to steady the punch bag before coming to stand behind her once again. The close proximity of their situation made Carrie's heart race and she forced herself to stare straight ahead as he put a hand on her hip, pulling it into position, and lifting her arms into stance.

"Like this" He breathed, so close that his breath tickled her ear. Were this Zach, Carrie would have turned in his embrace, thrown her arms around his neck and showed him, then and there, just how much of an affect he had on her. However, this was not Zach. It wasn't Zach who was having this affect on her, but his younger, surlier, quieter little brother. The brother's whose eyes always softened whenever he looked upon her. The brother who had warned her against Zach. But there was nothing for her to worry about...was there?

"Carrie?" A voice said, and Carrie snapped out of her reverie to find herself staring into Blake's wide, warm brown eyes. He was clutching her upper arms, crouching slightly and looking at her with open concern. As she began to blink and pull herself back to her senses, he clicked his fingers in front of her eyes.

"Carrie, you OK?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine...I just spaced for a minute, thats all" She said, tilting her head slightly and gazing at him in wonder.

"What?" Blake asked, leaning away from her slightly, "What? Do I have something in my teeth or something?" He gave her a small smile and Carrie couldn't help but return it.

"No, you don't have anything in your teeth..." She said, still gazing at him.

"Then, why are you looking at me all wierd?"

"C-can I ask you something?" Carrie asked, walking over to the bench and sitting down. She pulled out a bottle of water and unscrewed the top, taking a sip and then pouring some into her hand. She rubbed it across her chest and then forehead, needing to cool down after having been training alone for nearly two hours. When she looked up, she saw Blake quickly look away before crossing the room and sitting beside her.

"Shoot."

"Um, OK...Why did you warn me against Zach?" She said, quietly, "Why do you and him never get along?"

There was a long silence during which Carrie watched Blake's face darken to an expression that she had come to associate with each of the brothers. They both only ever looked like that when they spoke of each other, though, sometimes, Carrie had seen a little regret in Zach's eyes when he spoke of Blake. Carrie had always assumed that it was regret that they'd never had a better relationship, that the companionship of the brotherhood they could have shared and used to their advantage had been lost, for whatever reason. Now, though, Blake's features contorted in pain and his head fell into his hands. Carrie, not knowing what else to do, immediately wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and they stayed like that for a long time before, finally, Blake pulled away and began to speak in a shaky voice.

"Zach and I haven't always been at each others throats the way we are now" He said, quietly, "We used to be close. United, you could say" He let out a harsh, sarcastic laugh that made Carrie jump slightly.

"W-what happened?" She asked, her voice soft, and a little shaky.

"He left me"

"He _left _you?"

"Our mother...she died giving birth to me. Zach always looked out for me, but I always felt that he blamed me for her death. I'm sure he did. In his mind, if I'd never been born, his mother would still be alive. He'd never have suffered the way he did"

"How did he suffer?" Carrie's voice was a harsh whisper, now.

"Our father, he was a fairly wealthy business man before she died. When she did, though, his company swiftly went down hill and he went bankrupt. He didn't have the heart to work anymore, and he wasn't fit to look after a small boy and a baby. He re-married" Blake's face darkened again, "She was a complete bitch."

"What did she do to you?" Carrie questioned, unconsciously taking Blake's hand in her own and squeezing it tightly in an attempt to comfort him.

"She beat me black and blue from the age of four, right up until I was fifteen. She used to beat Zach too, but more so me. I was younger and more vulnerable. There was only a year between us, but Zach was built bigger, stronger. I was just a geek"

"But, you're _you!" _Carrie said, in disbelief and he gave her the ghost of a smile.

"I'm me because of what happened afterwards"

"None of this explains why you hate Zach, though..."

"I hate him because he left me. As soon as he turned sixteen he shot off to the Army. He told me he'd come back for me. He never did. Thats all there is to it, really. So, two years later, when it was clear that he wasn't going to come back for me, after he'd stopped answering my letters and my phone call's, I figured he'd either died and they hadn't told us, or he'd completely forgotten about me. And I followed in his footsteps. I headed out for the Army. I didn't bother trying to find out about him. I was disciplined and quiet, and I climbed the rank swiftly and ended up as an Officer, however, I sustained a shoulder injury that meant I couldn't stay in the Army. So, as soon as I was out of hospital, I got my orders from my superiors and was sent here. That was when we met back up. He never gave me a reason for not coming back"

Carrie was still sitting in shocked silence when a voice broke into her thoughts.

"Afternoon, you two. You look Cosy"

Carrie sighed. Of course, it was Zach.


End file.
